JAY WARD’S WILD, WITTY LEGACY LIVES ON IN HIS CLEVER ANIMATED CREATIONS, FROM ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE TO DUDLEY DO-RIGHT AND GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE
By Christina Rees | September 2, 2025
Television in the 1950s and ’60s was a wide-open frontier, a time when creativity could run wild – if you had the nerve to let it. Few figures embodied that daring spirit more than Jay Ward, the Harvard-educated real estate man who got sideswiped by fate (literally, his real estate office was once demolished by a runaway truck) and decided to make cartoons instead. Lucky for us, he did.
Ward, born Joseph Ward Cohen Jr. in 1920, didn’t just create cartoons; he unleashed a gallery of gloriously oddball characters who skewered pop culture while pretending to stumble through it. From Crusader Rabbit to George of the Jungle, from the bumbling Dudley Do-Right to the brilliant Mr. Peabody and his boy Sherman, his creations were equal parts silly and subversive. And, of course, there were his crown jewels: Rocky and Bullwinkle, that eternally clueless moose and his sharp-eyed flying-squirrel friend.
Bullwinkle pulls Rocky out of his hat in this limited-edition cel artists’ proof from 1994. The rare proof is numbered 21 out of only 25, and the regular edition has been sold out for more than 30 years.
This ‘George of the Jungle’ Ape and George production cel and master production background date to 1967, when the series ran for just 17 episodes.
The Wit Behind the Whimsy
What set Ward apart wasn’t just that his cartoons were funny – though they were, and still are – it was the way they blended puns, parody, and cultural satire. In Ward’s world, Cold War spies bumbled through Frostbite Falls, fairy tales fractured themselves, and no pun was ever too groan-worthy to leave on the cutting-room floor. He fought censors, mocked advertisers, and turned network headaches into comedy fodder.
Voice legends like June Foray, Paul Frees, and Bill Scott gave life to the absurd scripts, making Boris and Natasha, Bullwinkle, and Dudley Do-Right household names. And while kids delighted in the slapstick, parents chuckled at the sly digs at politics, television, and Madison Avenue itself.
“Jay Ward’s brilliance was his ability to make you laugh and think at the same time,” says Jim Lentz, Heritage’s Vice President of Animation and Anime Art. “He turned the Saturday morning cartoon into a work of wit and cultural commentary, which is why his characters have never gone out of style.”
This 1962 concept painting starring Rocky and Bullwinkle was created for a Rose Bowl parade float.
In this circa 1980s cel, Snidely Whiplash has abducted Nell Fenwick, but Dudley Do-Right comes to her rescue.
The Rare and the Remarkable
For collectors, however, Ward’s genius has long existed mostly on screen. Much of the original production artwork from Jay Ward Productions was destroyed, making what survived incredibly scarce. Fans could quote the lines, hum the theme songs, and even march in spirit with the infamous “Moosylvania” statehood campaign, but they rarely had the chance to own the art itself.
That changes September 13, when Heritage Auctions presents The Art of Moose and Squirrel and the Jay Ward Studios Animation Art Showcase Auction. For the first time, more than 300 lots of production cels, concept drawings, background paintings, promotional pieces, and studio ephemera will hit the block. This remarkable treasure trove, much of which is new to market and never before seen, is the result of contributions from the notable Jay Ward collections of Darrell Van Citters, Michael Kadin (Sam Clayberger Archive), Bob Kurtz, Lenna Weidman (The David Weidman Collection), and the June Foray Archive.
In 1986, the cartoons made for television by Jay Ward Productions took center stage in an exhibition at the Museum of Broadcasting. This rare poster for the event is signed by Ward in black marker.
Ward also signed this circa 1980s cel featuring Boris and Natasha, the inept spies forever attempting to thwart Rocky and Bullwinkle.
The sale includes artwork not only from Rocky and Bullwinkle and George of the Jungle, but also from Ward’s less-remembered ventures, including the live-action parody Fractured Flickers and The Nut House. Even whimsical studio holiday posters and Rose Bowl float designs are represented, painting a fuller picture of Ward’s imagination at play.
“This is truly a once-in-a-generation opportunity,” Lentz says. “Jay Ward’s artwork is not just rare – it’s practically mythical in animation collecting circles. To see this much material in one place is extraordinary, and it offers collectors a chance to own the kind of pieces most thought would never come to market.”
This circa 1970s-80s scene cel features hand-inked and hand-painted images of George of the Jungle, Snidely Whiplash, Dudley Do-Right, Bullwinkle, Rocky, and 17 other iconic characters.
This Sherman and Mr. Peabody layout drawing dates to circa 1959-60.
A Legacy That Still Echoes
Ward’s influence didn’t fade with the last rerun of The Bullwinkle Show. Cartoonists from Matt Groening (who gave “J.” initials to many Simpsons characters in homage) to today’s satirists owe him a debt. The humor he pioneered – self-aware, fearless, unafraid to poke the powerful – still feels fresh. And as the refurbished Bullwinkle statue now standing proudly on Sunset Boulevard reminds us, Ward’s creations still loom large in American pop culture.
In the end, what made Ward special wasn’t just that he created talking animals who made us laugh. It’s that he believed cartoons could be smart without losing their heart. His characters may have been drawn with simple lines, but they’ve carried cleverness and warmth that have endured for decades.
This September 13, collectors and fans alike have the rare chance to bring a piece of that magic home. Or as Bullwinkle himself might say: “Hey, Rocky, watch me pull some history out of my hat!”
